Aunt Bessie Needs (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 14)

by Diana Xarissa

  “I don’t like it out here,” George complained. “We’re too far from everything.”

  “Douglas is less than ten minutes away,” Bessie reminded him. “Surely that isn’t too much of a drive if it makes Mary happy?”

  George sighed. “I love Mary. I really want her to be happy. But I want George to be happy too.”

  “What don’t you like about Thie yn Traie?”

  “Oh, the house is fine, or it will be once we’ve finished doing it up. It’s a little small, but we can manage.”

  Bessie bit her tongue. George Quayle was the only person she knew who could describe Thie yn Traie, with its sprawling wings that went off in every direction, as ‘a little small,’ but Bessie knew it was smaller than the Douglas mansion.

  “I just like being closer to everything,” George continued.

  “The Douglas house is a lot of work for Mary,” Bessie pointed out.

  “For Mary? Why? We have a full complement of staff.”

  “And someone has to supervise them. That would be Mary’s job, wouldn’t it?”

  “Well, yes, I mean, we have staff in charge of the staff, but they all report to Mary in the end.”

  “I know she was hoping to have fewer staff when you settled out here,” Bessie told him. “I think she’s getting quite tired of having to deal with everyone.”

  George sighed. “I’m going to have to give in, really, aren’t I?” he said. “I’m going to have to give up the house I love because I love Mary more.”

  “If you really want to keep the house, maybe Elizabeth should move there and you and Mary should stay here,” Bessie suggested. “Elizabeth could take some classes at the college in Douglas, which might make Mary feel better about her staying on the island, as well.”

  “Bessie, that’s a wonderful idea. Elizabeth is forever grumbling about being stuck out here. I should have thought of that myself.”

  Before Bessie could reply, George had turned around and was rushing back up the stairs. Bessie held her breath as he negotiated the twists and turns of the narrow staircases. It was only when he’d reached the top and disappeared from view that she finally continued her walk home.

  “I’m soaked all the way through,” she muttered to herself as she stood and dripped on her kitchen floor. After a minute, she sighed and squelched her way to the small cloakroom. There she removed her wet things and hung them to dry over the bathtub. She’d had the tub put in almost as an afterthought when they’d added the cloakroom. It had never actually been used by anyone, but it was incredibly convenient when she wanted to hang up wet things, something she hadn’t really considered when she’d first contemplated adding the ground floor room.

  The day continued to be wet and miserable, so Bessie forced herself to work hard on her paper for the conference in May. By the end of the afternoon, after a very quick and light lunch, she had a solid first draft and a feeling of accomplishment. She curled up with a good book for an hour, only stopping when it was nearly time for her guests to arrive. She filled the kettle and switched it on as someone knocked on her door.

  “Hugh? I didn’t know you were coming,” she said in surprise when she opened the door.

  “John invited Doona and me to come along,” he explained as he gave Bessie a hug. “He said we usually do really well bouncing ideas off one another, and Pete didn’t mind.”

  “Well, it’s wonderful to see you,” Bessie told him.

  “Likewise,” Hugh grinned. “And thank you for having lunch with Grace yesterday. The treats she brought home for me were incredible. There was actually more in the box than I could manage to eat.”

  “You’re kidding,” Bessie exclaimed.

  Hugh laughed. “Grace made cottage pie for dinner and then didn’t eat very much of it because she’d had so much lunch, so I had three helpings of that before she brought out the box from the Lonan café. Even after she had a few pieces of biscotti, there was still too much there for me to finish in one sitting.”

  “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  “I’ve promised Grace that I’ll take her there for dinner one day soon.”

  Another knock on the door interrupted the conversation.

  “Something smells good,” Bessie told Doona as she gave her a hug. John was standing behind her, holding a box full of food.

  “I hope I brought enough,” John said. “Pete’s bringing pudding.”

  “I’m sure we’ll manage,” Bessie said.

  John carried the box into the kitchen and then he and Doona spread all of the smaller boxes full of food out across the counter. Bessie pulled down plates while Hugh set the table, bringing in an extra chair from the dining room that Bessie never used. Pete knocked as Doona got everyone cold drinks.

  “Hello, Bessie,” the man said when she opened the door.

  Bessie smiled brightly at the police inspector. The pair had met almost a year earlier when Bessie had been caught in the middle of a murder investigation. Although they hadn’t liked each other much when they’d first met, they’d come to respect one another by the time the murderer was apprehended. Now they were something like friends, and Bessie was pleased to see that Pete looked happier tonight than usual.

  The man was in his forties with dark brown hair liberally sprinkled with grey. His brown eyes usually looked tired, but tonight he looked almost cheerful as he handed Bessie a bakery box.

  “Pudding,” he told her.

  “Thank you,” she replied. When they’d first met, Pete had recently been divorced, but Bessie knew that he and her friend Helen Baxter, a nurse at Noble’s, had been seeing quite a bit of each other. She didn’t want to ask the man anything too personal, but she had to wonder if Helen had anything to do with his improved spirits.

  “Hey, Pete, come and get something to eat before young Hugh takes it all,” Doona called.

  “I’m being good,” Hugh protested.

  Bessie glanced at his plate and smiled. It was only about three quarters full, which for Hugh was significant restraint.

  Everyone filled their plates and then settled in at the table.

  “What’s new?” Doona asked Pete.

  The man shrugged. “Nothing much, really,” he said. “Helen and I are getting married in July.”

  “Pardon?” Doona demanded.

  Pete smiled, something that Bessie reckoned she’d rarely seen before.

  “It’s only going to be a small ceremony,” he said. “Neither of us wants to make a big fuss.”

  “Congratulations,” Bessie said.

  “Yes, congratulations,” Doona, John, and Hugh all echoed.

  “Thanks,” the man said, flushing slightly. “You’ll all be invited, of course. We’re keeping it small, but we’re inviting the people that matter.”

  “How wonderful,” Bessie said.

  Pete shrugged. “Helen will probably be mad that I told you, actually,” he said sheepishly. “She probably wanted to tell you all herself, now that I think about it.”

  “I’m sure she’s very excited,” Bessie said.

  “Yes, I suppose so,” Pete shrugged. “Anyway, that’s the only thing that’s new with me.”

  “I hope you’re going to take her on a wonderful honeymoon,” Bessie said.

  “I am, actually,” Pete said, blushing again. “I have some money put away, well, it was for a rainy day, I suppose. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do with it than take Helen somewhere special.”

  “Paris is wonderful,” Hugh told him.

  Pete nodded. “We’ve both been there before, though. Helen went with a former boyfriend many years ago. She thought he was going to propose at the top of the Eiffel Tower, but he didn’t. Apparently they had a blazing row about it and didn’t speak to each other for the rest of the holiday.”

  “So Paris is a no,” Doona laughed.

  “I’ve only been there for work, and I wouldn’t mind going again,” Pete told her. “But I don’t want to bring back any unhappy memories for her.”
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  “Have you decided where you’re going, then?” John asked.

  “We’re actually going to America,” Pete said. “Neither of us has ever been and we love watching American movies and television shows, so it seemed like a good idea.”

  “It’s a big place. Where are you going exactly?” Bessie wondered.

  “I’ve booked us for a week in New York City and then a week in San Francisco,” the man said. “We’ll fly to New York, see everything we can see and then fly to San Francisco. When it’s time to come home, we’ll fly back via a two-night stay in Las Vegas. It’s probably awful, but I feel as if we should check it out as we’re going to be so close.”

  “That all sounds wonderful,” Doona said. “I’ve always wanted to go to the US, too.”

  “I’d love to go to Vegas,” Hugh said. “I’ve no interest in going to a casino here on the island or even in the UK, but there’s something appealing about Vegas. Maybe it’s all the bright lights and excitement. I don’t think Grace would go for it, though.”

  “Start saving now and maybe you can take her for your first anniversary,” Doona suggested.

  “Maybe for our tenth,” Hugh replied. “Right now we’re still saving up for a deposit on a house. I think we’re nearly there, though. Grace is actually going to start talking to an estate agent next week to get an idea of what we can afford. House prices are going up so fast that we’re afraid to wait, really.”

  “I think that’s sensible,” John said. “You’re right. House prices are climbing very quickly. You need to get a foot on the property ladder as quickly as you can.”

  “We don’t need much for now,” Hugh said. “We’d be happy with two bedrooms, but even one would do. And my dad is pretty good at DIY. He’s going to help us if we want to change out any flooring or whatever. We just have to find a place.”

  “There’s a little bungalow on my street,” Doona said. “It’s one of the smaller ones that was built between the wars. It probably has three bedrooms, but one of them will be tiny, and there will only be one loo.”

  “I’ll tell Grace to have a look, but I think your neighbourhood is out of our price range. Three bedrooms probably are, too, even if one is only small,” Hugh told her.

  “I’m sure you’ll find something,” Bessie said, making a mental note to do some checking into the local property market. Maybe one of her friends knew about a property that wasn’t on the market yet but was going to be. And maybe Hugh and Grace would be able to get a slightly better price if the property never made it onto any estate agent’s books.

  “John, it’s your turn. What’s new and exciting in your life?” Bessie asked the man.

  “I have the kids coming to stay in July,” he said with a shrug. “But I told you about that before, so it isn’t new. I’m excited about it, though.”

  “Doona?” Bessie asked.

  “Aside from my being tempted just about every day to quit my job, there’s nothing new in my life,” Doona replied.

  “Anna is getting transferred to Castletown,” John said quietly. “But you definitely didn’t hear that from me.”

  Doona’s jaw dropped. “Really?” she asked after a moment. “Really, truly? Castletown?”

  “You can’t repeat that, and when you are told officially, you need to act surprised,” John told her. “I’m only telling you because I really don’t want you to quit.”

  Doona stood up and danced around the kitchen, waving her arms and shouting. “She’s going away, she’s going away, the horrible witch is going away.” She spun back around and gave a grinning Hugh a resounding high five.

  “I know you’ll be sorry to see her go,” John said dryly.

  “Oh, yes, so sorry,” Doona said sarcastically. “Just don’t tell me that they’re replacing her with someone worse.”

  “From that reaction, I can’t imagine that you’d find anyone worse,” John said.

  “Maybe not, but let’s not find out, okay?” Doona laughed.

  “For the record, she’s not being replaced, at least not in the short term. Having her here to help with admin was a good idea on paper, but it hasn’t worked out very well in practice. When she first came, she thought she’d be happy behind a desk, but she really misses being out in the field, and she’s proven herself to be a good investigator. Castletown needs an extra inspector, so moving her there makes sense. I’ll take back the tasks that she was handling, although there is talk about hiring someone as a civilian administrator to deal with at least some elements of what she was doing.”

  “I’ll worry about that later,” Doona decided. “For now I’m just going to enjoy the moment.”

  “Maybe you should enjoy it with cake,” Pete suggested. He helped Bessie clear the dinner plates and then brought the bakery box to the table. He pulled the cake from the box and put it down for everyone to admire.

  “Happy Birthday, Jake,” Doona read off the cake. “Who’s Jake?”

  Pete shrugged. “Whoever he is, he didn’t pick up his cake by the time the bakery was closing for the night. They let me buy it for less than half price.”

  “Poor Jake,” Bessie said.

  “But lucky us,” Doona replied as Pete began to slice generous servings of the chocolate sponge with chocolate icing.

  “When we’ve finished pudding, we really have to talk about murder,” Pete said as he handed Bessie her slice.

  Bessie shivered and then took a bite.

  Chapter 7

  The cake was delicious, although Bessie couldn’t help but feel a little bit sorry for Jake, whoever he was, as she ate.

  “Why would someone not pick up their birthday cake?” Doona asked as she scraped up the last of her icing. “Especially this birthday cake. It was wonderful.”

  “It happens all the time,” Pete told her. “The bakery is only a few steps away from the station, so I drop in at least once a week and buy up whatever they’re getting rid of. Usually it’s just bread or a few Bakewell tarts or something, but at least once or twice a month they have a cake that was never collected. One time when I was there, they had three cakes left. I took them all back to the station for the night guys. They were thrilled.”

  “I’ll bet,” Hugh muttered. Everyone laughed.

  “I think I’m lucky there isn’t a bakery near our station,” Doona said. “I didn’t realise you could buy unclaimed cakes. That seems like dangerous information to me.”

  “It might not be all bakeries,” Pete said. “I only know about the one in Douglas.”

  “It probably isn’t all bakeries,” Doona said firmly. “At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself if I ever find that I’m walking past a bakery near their closing time.”

  With pudding out of the way, Pete sat back in his chair and looked at Bessie. “I know you didn’t know the victim or her family, but I’d still like to talk about the case with you, if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course I don’t mind,” Bessie told him. “But I did actually know the victim.”

  “You did?” John asked.

  “I didn’t realise it until I spoke to Grace yesterday,” Bessie replied, feeling guilty now for not ringing John straight away. “And then I forgot to ring you until late last night. I knew you were all coming over for dinner, so I thought I could just tell you all the whole story at one time.”

  “There’s a story as well?” Doona asked.

  “Julie grew up in Laxey,” Bessie replied. “She was Julie Manners then. She and her family moved to Douglas because there was a problem at the high school.” While everyone listened and John and Pete took notes, Bessie told them all everything that she could remember about the matter. When she was done, she took a sip of tea and waited for the inevitable questions.

  “Do you remember the name of the teacher involved?” John asked.

  Bessie shook her head. “I’ve been trying to do just that since yesterday,” she told him. “It’s just on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t quite recall it. I want to say it was a fai
rly common name like Smith or Jones or Brown or something, but I’m not sure.”

  “Common for the UK or common for the island?” Pete demanded.

  Bessie thought for a moment. “I’m pretty sure he wasn’t from the island, so it wasn’t a Manx name.”

  “And he left the island after the incident?” John checked.

  “Yes. Not right away, but at the end of the term,” Bessie replied.

  Pete frowned at his notebook. “But no charges were ever brought?”

  “I don’t think so. I think he was just asked to leave,” Bessie said.

  “Thankfully, that wouldn’t happen today,” Doona muttered.

  “Was there anything in the local papers about it?” Hugh asked.

  “I doubt it very much. I think if there had been, the police would have become involved. I only heard about it because one of Julie’s friends was something of a regular visitor here that year. I think she was actually a little bit disappointed that Mr. White had never invited her to stay after school for extra help. That’s it! His name was Mr. White. I don’t know if I ever heard his Christian name. She always called him Mr. White.”

  “That’s something for us to start from, anyway,” Pete said, giving her a nod. “How about the name of the other girl involved in the altercation?”

  Bessie shook her head. “I’m sure I knew it at the time, but if I’m remembering correctly, the other girl was from Ramsey, where the school is located. I want to say she was called Susan or Samantha or something like that. I don’t know that I ever knew her surname.”

  “Interesting,” Pete said. “I don’t know that it provides much of a motive, but it’s something, anyway. If Mr. White left under a dark cloud and couldn’t find another job, he might have ended up harbouring a great deal of resentment towards the two young ladies who’d fought over him.”

  “Grace suggested that he might have ended up in prison for a while and was only just recently released,” Bessie told him.

  “That’s certainly one possibility,” Pete said, taking more notes. “We haven’t been able to find much in the way of motive otherwise, so it’s certainly a lead worth chasing up.”